Think of Wannaspell as the most anarchic Scrabble game that you've ever seen. It's as though someone took all the pieces, threw them on the floor and said, to a worldwide audience, "Ha ha, now you figure it out."
I just "played" it for a few minutes over lunch, and was amazed at how, through brief glimpses, you can see order in that chaos.
After doing the normal things that one could do (spell out my name, spell out "IMPEACH"), I tried to introduce this "room" to the joy of alphabetical order.

And for the next few minutes, it worked: people took the letters they needed, and restored them when they had finished their words and phrases. While not at all scientific, I think this would qualify as the type of homeostasis? There's another term from organizational communication theory that is related to this, but it escapes my mind at this point.

Thanks to a fantastic deal from the Stock Exchange, the decor of the apartment has transformed from garage sale/hand-me-down chic to a more adult style.
Though it required two trips with a trailer and station wagon, minor scrapes and bruises, and a lot of muscle, we hauled a dresser/mirror combo, two bookcases, two end tables and a gigantic coffee table from Hertel Ave., up a narrow staircase, and into our humble abode.
I will say this about the Stock Exchange: the quality and beauty of this furniture store's pieces is extraordinary. Antique desks and postmodern sofas sit side by side in a showroom that is filled with enough items to qualify as cramped. This is a good thing. Everywhere your eye turns, you will see something different.
This probably reads like an advertisement for the store: it is. They have an awesome (40% off) sale going on right now, and the folks who work there are good people.
Images to follow: I'm not comfortable taking pictures of the furniture until I've done a bit more organizing.

Soup. The best soups combine hearty vegetables with a delicious blend of liquid and spices. For a cold winter day, canned and processed souplike products from the likes of Campbell's and Progresso do not fit the bill. I based this soup on a recipe from Rachael Ray's newest cookbook, 365: No Repeats--A Year of Deliciously Different Dinners
Behold: a 15 minute soup

Ingredients
Olive Oil
Crushed Red Pepper
Marjoram (or, any green spice: name your flavor)
Garlic (not powder)
4 cups fresh or frozen vegetables (thin sliced carrots, celery, onion, zucchini, green beans, yellow beans, sugar peas, peppers)
1 can/1.5 cups chicken broth
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 jar tomato sauce (plain)
Parmesean or Romano cheese
Italian or French Bread
Tools
Large saucepan/pot
Spoons
Sharp knives for cutting veggies
Can opener
Steps
Line up your ingredients: chopped/sliced veggies in a bowl; spices; cans and can opener.
Add a few tablespoons of OO to the saucepan, medium heat.
Add a few (chopped) cloves of garlic. You can't have too much garlic!
Add a sprinkle of crushed red pepper.
Add the veggies. Mix to coat with the oil.
Cook the veggies, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes.
Add the cans of broth, tomatoes and sauce.
Add another sprinkle of crushed red pepper and whatever green spice you're in the mood for.
Heat through, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat, top with a dash of parmesean/romano cheese.
Serve with a few slices of fresh italian or french bread for dunking.

With my move back to Buffalo, one of the things I looked forward to the most was being close to the ski hills to the south. Kissing Bridge and Holiday Valley offer just enough variety for a new skiier like myself.
I'll never be a fast and furious skiier, racing down a slope at breakneck speeds while doing tight little spins, like Jeremiah. I won't even be as mobile as the four year olds I've seen zipping along at Kissing Bridge. However, I ski slowly and steadily, with occasional slips and falls. For someone who hadn't even encountered the Bunny Hill until she was 24 years old, I do fine.
We bought our Schussmeisters ski passes; our equipment (boots and skis) is in great condition; and, we have most evenings free to hop on the Schuss bus.
While walking outside today in the mud, I'm just bummed that the ski conditions are, to put it bluntly, totally sucking. We won't be back in business until a few more heavy snowstorms come our way.

Last night I whipped up a concoction that, though I call it tapenade, according to the true definition should just be called "a tasty spread for crackers and stuff."
Tapenade generally contains a combination of black olives, capers and anchovies. I will eat exactly none of those foods. I don't even know what capers are. So, based on how I've seen my hero, Rachael Ray, prepare her "tapenade," here's my recipe.
Ingredients
1/2 jar (12 oz) marinated artichokes (found in the pickle aisle; save the oil)
1 jar (6 oz) roasted red peppers
3-4 tbsp. minced garlic (or, a few cloves of chopped, fresh garlic)
other condiments in your fridge (i used 2 tbsp. of sliced pimentos; you could also use seeded pepperoncini, pickled veggies, olives, hot sauce - go crazy, it'll work)
1/4 c parmesean cheese
2 tbsp. lemon juice (fresh, if you have it)
several dashes of parsley or italian seasoning (or fresh chopped herbs)
dash of salt
Tools
Food processor. This is essential.
spoons for adding/removing the ingredients
clean, delabeled jars (you can use the empty jars from the rrpeppers or artichokes; I washed mine thoroughly with soap, then a mild bleach solution, then rinsed. The ingredients are mildly acidic, so bacteria growth potential over a few days isn't likely, but super-clean is better).
a towel (I made a mess w/ my food processor)
Steps
Add all ingredients to the food processor
Blend (on pulse; you don't want it too watery)
Add the leftover oil from the artichokes as needed; the final result should be thick, not chunky, not watery; add olive oil if you need more
Spoon into clean jars.
Store in the fridge
Serving
Goes well with pita bread (or any bread), triscuits/crackers, polenta (We first tried this as a sample at Wegman's - it's delicious). You could also take some italian bread or a baguette, slice it on an angle, top with the tapenade and mozz. cheese and heat until the cheese melts.